Kutsinta

This is another dessert my mom made for Christmas lunch. It's called "Kutsinta" which is a brown rice cake. Kutsinta is pronounced "Koo-chin-tah". I have never made this. It seems too time consuming but my mom says this is easy. Plus, I do not have a steamer! The recipe is from "The Food of the Philippines" by Reynaldo Alejandro.

My mom used to sell tons of these cakes at her old work (back in the late 70's) for extra pocket money. She would steam racks of these in mini muffin tins when we were young. These were especially popular with her co-workers. Kutsinta is best served with fresh, grated coconut. Do not use the sweetened flaked coconut. Bad!!! Bad indeed!

My mom buys fresh coconuts and grates the damn things with this special stool. Check out the Coconut Grater Stool. Although the stool pictured is of Thai origin, Filipinos use the same thing. Because this is a time consuming dessert, my mom only makes this for very special occasions.

Kutsinta
Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour (Mochiko brand)
2 cups brown sugar
3 cups water
1 tsp lye water (potassium carbonate solution sold in Asian food stores)
Freshly grated coconut

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Pour into muffin pans, until halfway full. Steam in a large pan with a cover; the water should be about 2 inches deep. Cook for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Add more water if needed until cooking is done. Remove from the muffin pans and seve with freshly grated coconut.

I'm sure this recipe could be doubled. The recipe book said this onlyserved 4 (huh?)?